Abstract:

This paper discusses the volatile political scene of Palestine during the period of the 1940s. The role of Jewish politics and Jewish terrorism in the withdrawal of the British from Palestine are discussed as are the methods employed by the leading dissident group, the Irgun Zvai Leumi. The interaction between the British and the Jews as well as interaction between various jewish organizations is also addressed. In this very violent and complex time, there was an unlikely leader, who had a dream for the Jewish people and he pursued that dream. That man was Menachem Begin and his influence in the Irgun and in the politics of the times is also examined.